Pau Gasol shows his appreciation for Andrew Bynum's effort in the Lakers' Game 2 victory over New Orleans. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, GETTY IMAGES

Video: Lakers lack star power in ugly win

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LOS ANGELES – Back in training camp, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom stayed after practice one day for Gasol to teach Odom how to lower his left shoulder and drive his defender far enough under the hoop so that even he with the very weak right hand could just flip up an uncontested shot right-handed. After some test runs, the bubbly Odom was so appreciative for the trick that he walked over and slapped Gasol's unraised right hand with his, bringing a quick smile to Gasol's face.

Andrew Bynum would sit out all of training camp and the season's first 24 games because of a delayed knee surgery and a longer recovery time because the procedure was done in a way to maximize the longevity of Bynum's right knee joint. Gasol and Odom both performed sensationally until their noodle arms wore down carrying the load in the frontcourt where both Theo Ratliff and Derrick Caracter were unplayable.

Yet Gasol and Odom did not grow selfish or bitter.

Odom was unabashedly dreaming of the first All-Star berth of his career, but behind the scenes he was only encouraging Bynum and assuring him that whenever he was ready, the starting post would be his again, no questions asked.

And when Bynum's right knee buckled yet again in the penultimate game of the regular season, Gasol did not groan or panic. He actually said of the injury-prone Bynum, "Andrew's a tough guy," choosing to stress the very real contributions Bynum made last postseason with that torn cartilage turning his knee into a balloon.

There is a team within the team. No NBA team can come close to having three skilled and big men like Bynum, Gasol and Odom. And so they have developed a union in which they all respect each other, cover for each other's soft nights and enjoy their individual identities as the All-Star, the reality star and the future star.

But if they're three musketeers, they can't be all for one and one for all – because all three never play at one time. Jackson's aversion to playing Odom at small forward guarantees that two of the three are on the court at all times for the Lakers.

And so you see how the Lakers could win a face-saving Game 2 Wednesday night against New Orleans with Gasol letting everyone down even after Kobe Bryant had said "I have no doubt" Gasol will bounce back and Phil Jackson said Gasol has "always risen to the challenge."

Bynum and Odom played well, and it was more than enough.

The in-vogue thing used to be that West contenders had to hire Kobe-stoppers to have a chance. Now you look at the two teams likely to stand in the way of the Lakers' fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and you see how Dallas got Tyson Chandler to play defense in the paint and Oklahoma City did the same by acquiring Kendrick Perkins.

To deal with the Lakers, you still have to deal with Bryant, the franchise player that none among Bynum, Gasol and Odom can be. But you've at least got to try to turn the Three Musketeers into Alvin and the Chipmunks.

(Side note: If you've never watched a Kardashian reality show, you might not know that Odom's wife is unquestionably the funny one. When the three sisters were talking about being like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Khloe whined in unsolicited jest that she knew she'd have to be Theodore, "the chubby one.")

And even though Simon Odom and Theodore Bynum took turns in the spotlight while Alvin Gasol shot poorly again, Bryant gave Gasol credit for at least being more active than in Game 1. The team's ultimate tone-setter, Bryant actually said the Lakers get "a certain energy" on nights when Gasol can stay aggressive and attacking. It's not difficult to think of a glaring example of what Bryant means: Game 7 vs. Boston.

And the truth is that Bynum, Gasol and Odom all took care of business in the most important sense Wednesday night: pick-and-roll defense. They got out there and stayed in Chris Paul's way after just being traffic cones on his racetrack in Game 1 – which Jackson made the team watch four times to get the full message.

"We were really bad in terms of helping the guy covering Chris Paul in Game 1," said Derek Fisher, who was usually that guy.

In Game 2, the Lakers' biggest three dudes better focused on the Hornets' smallest guy, and Staples Center morphed from Paul's playground into a closet. On one memorable trap with a 72-59 lead, Bynum jumped out to corral Paul against the sideline and didn't flinch one bit when Paul banged right into Bynum's fragile right knee to escape. Paul still had to give up the ball, at which point Bynum hustled back under the basket, controlled a contested rebound over two Hornets and flared his elbows like a big man should.

Odom noted that Bynum's strong late-season play has featured "this ferocious style."

Odom also announced: "This is his time as far as the arrival of Andrew Bynum."

So you can see how Bynum, Gasol and Odom have played and can play happily in their own private treehouse 7 feet up in the air.

Even if only two of them are allowed in there at one time, it's perfect for the Lakers to get them all on the best behavior.

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